I almost ran more in my long run last weekend than I did this entire week (16.6 miles). Running fail. Such is my last 3 months of half-baked marathon training.

A car-free 5th Avenue

After slacking off last weekend after the long run, I was so proud of my 6 miles on Tuesday evening. Then it all went downhill, mainly due to work commitments, but then Thursday night I woke up every hour with throbbing pain in my right hip. I could barely walk Friday and had to call out of work sick. I spent most of the day on the couch hobbling between the kitchen and bathroom. I could not move without being in pain. This isn’t the first time I suffered from hip pain and it typically starts at night and usually by mid-day I am feeling much better. This time it was a lot worst and the pain lasted until Friday evening. Then I woke up Saturday morning fine. What’s wrong with me? Hopefully I’ll find out this week; I’m making an appointment to see a physical therapist/sports medicine doctor.

Ready to go!

I tested out my hip on Saturday afternoon with an easy 45-minute run and I felt fine, which meant I could run the 5th Avenue Mile, right? I’m pretty sure doctors would not agree with my logic. I got to Central Park this morning early enough to get in a little over 3 mile warm up, picked up my bib, checked my bag that only had the race shirt, and was ready to go in my corral with 10 minutes to spare.

Waiting for the start

I was in the Women 30-34 group but was in the back of the chute. When the gun went off at 9:10, I spent the first 0.25 miles dodging people. 0.5 miles in, I was at the top of the 5th Avenue hill, out of breath and could see the finish looming ahead, but it wasn’t not close enough. Remind me why racing a mile is fun? Josh was standing by the finish line, about 100 meters off. I waved at him but was focused on trying not to hurl until I crossed finish. My official time was 7:03 (15 seconds off my PR last year), and no, I didn’t hurl. Phew!

That’s me trying not to hurl!

I know I am not in as good of shape as I was last year, so I am pretty pleased with my time though I do wish it was 4 seconds faster. I have absolutely no strategy for a mile race. It feels like it should be a distance that you can sprint the whole time, but that’s a naïve marathoner’s perspective. After watching Nick Willis and Jenny Simpson win the professional races on TV, it looks like I may need to formulate a strategy for the next time I race a mile. Essentially instead of trying to sprint the whole race, I should gradually work up to a sprint for the last 0.25 miles. I’m pretty sure I do the opposite of that now.

Josh’s shot of the finish

Regardless, the 5th Avenue Mile is a great race and one I hope to keep running in years to come. It’s extremely well organized, easy to spectate, and the field is not terribly crowded. Plus how often do you get to sprint down a car-free 5th Avenue? Thank you NYRR!

With the week coming to a close and the NYC Marathon less than 50 days away, I hope the hip pain stays at bay and I can have a stronger latter part of the cycle.

P.S. There’s still time to help support my cousin, Derek and the Alzheimer’s Association!

Tell me about your running week!